Tax Competition News
New OECD Rules Threaten Competition
CF&P’s Brian Garst writes in Cayman Financial Review on the downsides of new OECD rules. Under the guise of reducing tax evasion, international tax collectors are dismantling tax competition and threatening freedom and prosperity. http://freedomandprosperity.org/2014/featured/new-oecd-rules-strike-at-the-foundation-of-tax-competition/
Anti-Money Laundering Laws Aren’t Working
Anti-money laundering (AML) laws proliferated in recent decades on the theory that crime could be lowered by obstructing the access of criminals to the financial system. As a consequence, all bank customers are treated like dirt and spied upon. And what has this harassment delivered? According to a study by the Center on Law and Globalization, AML initiatives have not delivered the goods, and, moreover, that international organizations haven’t even attempted to quantify the costs and benefits of their efforts.
Further Analysis: Dan Mitchell, Market Center Blog, “Great Moments in the Failed and Costly War Against Money Laundering,” http://freedomandprosperity.org/2014/blog/great-moments-in-the-failed-and-costly-war-against-money-laundering/
This CF&P produced video is dated, but the message remains relevant: Making Banks Spy on Their Customers is Not Effective Crime Fighting: The Failure of Anti-Money Laundering Laws
http://freedomandprosperity.org/2010/videos/making-banks-spy-on-their-customers-is-not-effective-crime-fighting-the-failure-of-anti-money-laundering-laws/
The Importance of Tax Competition
Our Dam Blog expounds on the importance of tax competition in determining business decisions, and encourages jurisdictions to remain competitive or suffer the consequences. http://www.ourdamblog.com/tax-competition-among-countries/
FATCA Updates
Fight is Far From Over
Since Day 1 the politicians, big government ideologues, and tax compliance industry have trumpeted FATCA’s inevitability. There’s nothing that can be done, they say, so just accept global financial surveillance as the new reality. They’re wrong. Change is always possible, but proponents of freedom and prosperity must meet the challenge head-on. We’ve made significant progress already, including the recent addition of FATCA repeal to the Republican Party platform.
FATCA Unlikely to Limit Tax Evasion
In a recent op-ed for Forbes, CF&P President Andrew Quinlan explained why celebration of FATCA on the part of tax collectors is premature, as both FATCA and new OECD efforts aimed at tackling tax evasion are unlikely to achieve success. He argues the collection über alles approach is fundamentally flawed and faces significant political and practical obstacles. The better approach would be to simplify and minimize the destructiveness of the tax code. http://freedomandprosperity.org/2014/opinion-and-commentary/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-will-fail-to-curb-tax-evasion/
From the Market Center Blog…
Moral Corruption at the OECD: Using Dishonesty to Advance the Statist Agenda
The OECD makes the absurd claim that poverty is more severe in the U.S. than Greece, Portugal or Hungary because they focus on relative income distribution instead of absolute wealth. Even worse, they hide their shady definitions from the public! http://freedomandprosperity.org/2014/blog/big-government/moral-corruption-at-the-oecd-using-dishonesty-to-advance-the-statist-agenda/
Whether You Call it Socialism, Statism, Fascism, or Corporatism, Big Government is Evil and Destructive
It ultimately doesn’t matter what you call them. What matters is recognizing the destruction caused by misguided ideologies. http://freedomandprosperity.org/2014/blog/big-government/whether-you-call-it-socialism-statism-fascism-or-corporatism-big-government-is-evil-and-destructive/
Minimum Wage Laws: Sabotaging the Ladder of Economic Opportunity
Increasing the minimum wage is suddenly all the rage. But what does this misguided policy mean in practical terms? http://freedomandprosperity.org/2014/blog/minimum-wage-laws-sabotaging-the-ladder-of-economic-opportunity/
